


I go crazy (when I'm without you)

by PageMage



Category: Infinity Train (Cartoon)
Genre: Aged up a couple of years, Cuddling, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Idiots, Idiots in Love, Lake is 16 and Jesse is 17, Musical theater camp, Pining, Pining Lake, Possible confessions, a boatload of denial, halloween movie night, jesslake - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:39:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27900127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PageMage/pseuds/PageMage
Summary: It was never something Lake had really thought about before. Jesse was her best friend, had always been her best friend, and their relationship just involved casual touch. But out of the blue, his casual hugs and shameless flirting starts to mean a little more to Lake, and she starts questioning everything about what he really means to her.
Relationships: Jesse Cosay/Lake | Mirror Tulip
Comments: 18
Kudos: 69





	1. Uh Oh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jesse is off to summer camp, and Lake misses him more than she thinks she will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourselves for drama because I literally couldn't stop myself from making it SO DRAMATIC I'm sorry.
> 
> Also for a little context: I decided to have Lake move in with a foster family because I didn't want Jesse and her to have adoptive-sibling vibes by living together because I myself have an adopted brother and it would make me uncomfortable. Timeline wise this would happen like six months after she gets off the train. It's okay if you don't agree with me, but I just wanted to explain why I did it so that readers won't be confused.

It was never something she’d really thought about before. Jesse was her best friend, had _always_ been her best friend, and their relationship had always involved casual touch.

To Lake, it was one of the things that made her feel more like herself. Tulip kept to herself a lot. She didn’t like hugs, or proximity, or anything affectionate. Before escaping from the chrome car, touch was never really an option for Lake. Not one that she distinctly wanted, anyway.

But then she met Jesse Cosay. Jesse, who wore his heart on his sleeve. Jesse, who won her over with his silly songs, sweet compliments, and friendly touches. Jesse, who she’d wanted to get rid of, until it became the scariest thing in the world when she did. That day on the train when she hugged him was the first time she had ever been hugged outside of the mirror world. Which meant it was the first hug that mattered.

Since then, she thought about touch differently. She _wasn’t_ Tulip Olsen, she was Lake, and she found more and more that she genuinely liked touch. Every hand on a shoulder, or an arm around her waist, or just plain holding hands meant that she herself was appreciated, was liked for just who she was. And for Jesse in turn, it was how he expressed himself. 

So ever since that conversation where she’d told him how it made her feel, she hadn’t really thought about it. Like when Jesse would over-dramatically fall against her (because she was strong enough to catch him every time), or she’d mess up his hair when they were teasing each other. When he started learning to drive the old minivan his family owned, she held his hand on the steering wheel or touched his shoulder when he tensed up out of fear. Lake was glad those days were over- she hated seeing him anxious. As for people who _weren’t_ Jesse, she gave Nate piggyback rides and hugged her foster parents and siblings. Touch was just part of her new life.

Lately though… things had been different. She couldn’t explain it, and she almost wanted to ignore it, but it just kept happening. Tracing it back in her mind, she could place it starting the season before, in summer. 

In the years before, Jesse would train for swimming, but the summer before senior year, he wanted to do something different. Being Lake, she supported every independent decision he had, until she found out what it was.

Jesse had signed up to be a camp counselor for not only a summer camp, but a _musical theater_ summer camp. Of all the horrible ways to spend your summer. He wanted to spend a whole month there, and somehow roped Lake into coming for the last week to help out. This compromise did come with some significant bribes though, like letting Lake borrow Jesse’s jacket all next winter, something she was _definitely_ looking forward to. 

Jesse had really wanted her to come the full time, but not even a whole year’s worth of jacket privileges could convince her to abandon prime skating days to learn some awful musical numbers she’d be sick of within an hour. She’d rather help with food prep, or something equally as gross as long as it didn't involve acting.

Surprisingly though, over those three weeks, she found her thoughts drifting to Jesse more than she’d expected them to. It wasn’t that she didn’t hang out with her own friends and foster siblings (even though they were weirdos), but she couldn’t stop just _thinking_ about him. She hadn’t realized how much time they spent together, but expecting to see him on a daily basis and then... _not,_ made it glaringly obvious. She missed him. And maybe she’d always missed him when he wasn’t around, but it was never so apparent. 

Her thoughts even turned to the train, even though she hated to think about those days. Without him, Lake’s life had become a living hell of pure vitriol for the Fleks that were chasing her. There was such relief when she found him again, when she realized that she’d been in denial about the fear that she’d never see him again. The fear that never had to come true. That was probably why she missed him. Right?

Regardless, Lake was… unusually excited to get to theater camp after three weeks of going a little crazy sorting through all her mixed feelings and denying them all over again. Once she was with Jesse again, it wouldn’t matter anyway. They could just be as they always were, happy to be themselves, together. 

Or so she’d thought.

When the door of her foster’s minivan swung open after the three-hour (cough, eternal) car ride, Lake’s restless energy set her off running as soon as she could grab her messily-stuffed duffle bag from the trunk. She didn’t even know where she was going, really, but she always hated being in one place for too long.

It wasn’t long before her feet took her to the top of the hill overlooking the camp. From there she could see a makeshift stage, some big canvas tents, a big field, and kids just _everywhere_. Beyond that was the great dusky-red valleys and mountains of the place that had become her home. Just like that, she was awed. And then, a familiar voice caught her ear that made her suddenly so unbelievably happy that she turned around already smiling.

 _Jesse._ His dark hair had grown a little more during the few weeks, but it was held back by a bandana and was sticking out in weird directions like it always was. His dark and tanned skin fit perfectly with their sunny surroundings. And he wasn’t just smiling back, he was _beaming_ at her. He was just… a vision. Why did it catch her so off guard? This was _Jesse_ , but suddenly her Jesse was making her feel all nervous and fluttery and _not_ the confident girl she knew she was.  
  
Then he was running up to her and calling, “Lake! I’ve been waiting for you all day!” and didn’t even hesitate before hugging her so tightly that she lost her breath. 

Or maybe, it was that when he hugged her, Lake’s body became hyper-charged with electricity. An instant shock that would have staggered her if he wasn’t holding her upright. Hugging him. It was something she’d done a million times. But _this_ time, she was so surprised that she couldn’t even hug him back. She could feel herself flushing, maybe from confusion. Probably. Yes, definitely. Lake tentatively wrapped her arms around him, feeling a little bad for the lost time. She tried not to think about how the electricity had spread to her arms, and hugged him tighter to try and ignore it.

“I missed you,” she whispered, the first thing that came to her short-circuited mind, even though it was revealing.

“I missed you too! Especially ‘cause you’re like half an hour late,” he grinned, letting her go to tease her.

For the love of- how could he be so casual? Or how could she _not_ be? She knew Jesse better than anyone, but it seemed like she was the only one who’s brain had been completely scrambled by a single hug. It was just… distance! Time apart! It was _nothing_ and she should be _normal_ again. Lake bit her cheek, hoping that her blush wasn’t obvious or was at least calming down, though it sure didn’t feel like it. What was going _on?_

“There was traffic.” It was boring, deadpan. Not normal. Great.

“Aw, but traffic shouldn’t come between us! C’mon, I wanna show you around camp and you _have_ to meet the other counselors. I have so much to catch you up on,” he was smiling again. It was so nice to see him, hear him after it being so long. They never had much time to call since he’d been so busy, though he did try to. Just hearing him ramble about nothing made her feel the same way she did when she was looking at that sunset.

Wait, this was dumb! Jesse’s rambling was annoying, right? Or at least, um... ugh! Musical theater, right? Gross, she definitely _didn’t_ want to know about it. 

“Do you need help with your stuff?”

“Oh. No, I’m like, really strong.” Was nothing but idiocy going to come out of her mouth today? _Please_ make it stop.

“Right, yeah, I knew that. Okay, c’mon!” Jesse grabbed her hand right after she rearranged her duffle bag, but Lake flinched away as soon as the nervous electricity acted up in her metal fingertips. He looked back at her, wounded. _Wounded?  
_  
“Jesse, it’s summer,” she faltered, “metal fingers conduct heat. I don’t wanna- I mean- hurt you.” This seemed to make it up to him, and he smiled kindly again, though Lake could detect some disappointment there. Maybe he really did want to hold hands? But isn’t that-? No. Not looking into that. It’s _Jesse._

“Duh, again. Okay, this way.”

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly. Even though Lake held to her excuse, they were still inseparable. Jesse managed all the introductions, and Lake’s nerves finally settled down somewhat. She was still in the process of writing it all off as some dumb fluke, but every once in a while when he was introducing her or rambling about some crazy camp story, her eyes would linger on him. It was like she couldn’t control them at all. 

She kept thinking about how his hair might feel now that it was longer. Or how pretty his dark skin looked, how she wanted so badly to see what their hands would look like interlocked, with the reflections of her chrome fingers and the warm undertones of his bound together. Even things she’d never thought about before, like how much his eyes lit up when he talked about theater, or when he looked over at her for some kind of approval or sarcastic remark that she fumbled over. In her weakest moments, she even glanced at his lips.

It was a betrayal to herself, and to her friendship. It was _weird_. She was so angry about it too, but had no idea why. She was angry at her lack of focus, the fixations, and dumb inexplicable tingling in her stomach. She hated it so much! She wanted to force herself to be normal, to just go back to the casual way they were before. She used to be able to touch him, and not feel anything but happiness, calm, or- she didn’t know- _herself_. If something changed, would she lose this part of herself that she loved? She didn’t even know what had changed exactly. And why did it have to change?

The night had been full of things to do together, and his proximity became more and more unbearable to her heart, her nerves. He used to calm her down, but now he was the catalyst for inner warfare.  
  
There was one moment in particular that almost made her explode right then. Since the air had cooled down at night, Lake had no excuse for avoiding Jesse’s casual touches. Besides, avoiding them would mean hurting his feelings, so it became impossible to say no when, sitting by the fire, Jesse put his arm around her shoulders.

On any other day, it was nothing but companionship. But that day, she had to close her eyes to concentrate on not shivering from it. He was never shy, so naturally, he pulled her against his side. Time slowed. If Lake didn’t have a metal cheek, she would’ve bitten right through it. She was glad he couldn’t see her, because her grimace would’ve made it seem like it was a bad thing when it was possibly the warmest, most happy she’d been, but in the _wrong ways._ It wasn’t fair that he was setting her on fire and she couldn’t do anything to stop it. Couldn’t. Would she though, if she could?

The rest of the camp sang jaunty show tunes around the fire, none of which Lake knew, so at least she could stay blissfully quiet as she put on a restrained smile and tried to control her breathing and thus her heart. A method that was especially useless when he laughed and warmth spread through her whole body to not just hear his happiness, but to feel it against her side.

He was destroying her, atom by atom.

Walking to the tents was almost as much torture as it was heaven. When leaving the campfire, he took her hand in his tentatively to lead the way. She still couldn’t allow herself to, but she’d wanted to feel her hand in his all day. And now they didn’t even have a real reason. He wasn’t excitedly leading her anywhere, or pulling her along. They were just… walking. Was this different or the same as how it was last month? Was there a reason he was being so quiet? Lake was getting frustrated with all the questions again. So although the drumbeat of her heart in her ears was as deafening as it was annoying, she broke the silence.

“Seems like you really like it here.”

Jesse smiled fondly at the ground. “I do, but I’d like it more if you came earlier. I hate to say it, but the distance kinda reminded me of… things.”

Lake looked up, surprised, “The train! When you got your exit!”  
  
Jesse’s laugh was ill-humored. “You seem weirdly excited about that.”

“No, I just meant- I mean I was thinking the same thing. Okay, that sounds stupid,” she admitted. Just like everything that had come out of her mouth that whole stupid day. Now that they were talking she couldn’t even ignore the hyper-awareness of his fingers. Fixations after fixations, this was getting ridiculous.

“Oh. You were?”

“Yeah. It sucked to be alone on that train, running from those crazy fleks.” _And being afraid of never seeing you again,_ she thought. But that was too cheesy and she’d already admitted that she missed him. She needed some… control. But it was hard to focus when he squeezed her hand comfortingly.

“I’ve probably said this a million times, but I’m glad you got off. With me.”

_What does that mean? Wait, why do I care what it freaking means?_

“Yep. The train reeks. Arizona reeks a little less,” she said hastily. She was more focused on looking away so he couldn’t catch the darkening of her cheeks by the light of the moon.

Jesse laughed, “Well you haven’t had to do camp laundry yet. I’m pretty sure Arizona reeks more, but I’ll take it.”

“ _You_ haven’t visited the fart car.”

“The what? Eww!” he pushed her, finally releasing her hand. She forced herself to feel relieved about it. “The train was so crazy. I’m gonna try to not think about you getting stuck back there. Honestly… I was afraid I’d never see you again.”

Lake’s head whipped around to Jesse, eyes shining. She hadn’t even said what was on her mind, but it was like he _knew._ The look she gave him was probably the most unguarded she’d been all day, so full of admiration and love that she’d probably regret it later. But not then. His eyes were shining too, and deep with something she couldn’t place. But now there was this weird distance between them since he wasn’t touching her and the comfortable silence they’d maintained until that point had vanished. For the fiftieth time that day, she felt a strain on her heart.

“I’ll try not to get stuck on any trains then. In _fact,_ ” she turned away from him with a grin-grimace to try and show that it wasn’t hard to. “They’d have to drag my lifeless body on board, because me and trains are _done._ ”

He laughed, “Good. I’ll uh… I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow yeah. Laundry and dirty dishes galore, I bet.”

“Yeaaah,” he shrugged, “I guess you should’ve come earlier so you could do the fun singing and dancing instruction like I am, huh?”

“In your dreams, nerd,” she smiled. Genuinely this time.

There was a moment where Lake wasn’t sure whether or not he was going to hug her, and he seemed equally unsure before he gave a (heart-stoppingly cute) salute and headed off to his side of camp.

As soon as she walked away, Lake expected the oppressive air to dissipate, but instead, she just felt more wound up. Apparently being left with her thoughts was even more dangerous. It seemed like it, when it led to a very restless hour of lying in her bed until she decided she had to sneak out for some fresh air.

She dragged her hand through her hair, which was undercut to her ears and then thick and wavy at the top. She paced for a few yards and then settled her back against the kitchen shed to think all that chaos over.

All Lake had wanted was a return to the sane way of things. But what could stop these sudden feelings?

It felt like the floodgates had opened. All the little things she’d loved about Jesse had culminated and were smacking her full in the face. Three weeks of distance didn’t just mean she missed him, it also meant that seeing him again sparked the realization that he’d grown up. That they’d grown up together. And that he’d grown up to be taller, and handsome, and all those stupid cheesy things people say when they’re in-

No. No, it can’t be. It was all so sudden and intense, so how could it be more than just a fluke? Wasn’t it just her missing him combined with this realization that he was, maybe, possibly, someone she was falling for? But it didn’t make any sense. She _knew_ he was cute. She wasn’t blind, and it wasn’t like she hadn’t thought about him like that _ever._ It just… didn’t happen often. Or if it did, she just ignored it. Was it that she’d been denying this for so long that it just suddenly became undeniable?  
Lake tried not to scream and wake up the entire camp. She wanted to break something. This was a problem without a resolution. Really, what were her options?

If she confessed to Jesse about these feelings that - hello!- she wasn’t even sure about yet, then she would screw up their friendship. She’d make things weird! She didn’t want things to be weird! And if she held them in- evidently very _effectively_ \- she risked hurting his feelings.

But maybe there was a solution. Lake was almost positive that the feelings would fade after a week. So, if touching him was what made everything crazy stupid confusing, she would just… not do that. This would pass. She’d stop feeling insane every time she looked at him, and they could just go back to being best friends. Like it was supposed to be!

Right?

\---

The rest of camp was… weird. To say the _least_. Or at least around Jesse it was. Lake was usually tasked with doing mindless labor, which did not bode well for her thoughts. When she wasn’t scrubbing dishes, packaging snacks, or reflecting sunlight at kids she found annoying, she was hanging out with Jesse. He’d said in one of their few calls that by the time she got there, he’d have a lot less to do since the kids were just rehearsing and it was all up to the assistant directors who had been there the past summers. So he had a lot of free time. Lake still couldn’t decide if this was a good or bad thing.

It was good because she was seriously bored after doing the same things for hours. Plus, he was always good company. At least some of her wit had returned after her sleepless night, so she had fun teasing him and watching him make stupid defensive retorts that usually contained the phrase “your mom”.

But it was bad because the _phenomenon_ wasn’t going away. Every time he leaned closer to her casually, or smirked a certain way, or ruffled her hair (a recent nerve-inducing development), her heart started doing somersaults. Backflips. It was like a circus show had come to town in her guts. An _uninvited_ circus show.

It didn’t seem to help that she wasn’t touching him, but it made things easier. Bearable, at least. She just needed to come up with more reasons to avoid his infectious physical affection. Because that week, all she did was fumble.

“-and this is my best friend Lake!” he said, chipper, before leaning against her and resting an arm around her shoulder. She jolted, almost too noticeably.

“Uh- hey! Check this out,” she said to the new people he was introducing her to before shifting out from under his arm and moving her wrist so that she could reflect the sunlight into their eyes. They responded with shock and anger, something she hadn’t intended but was admittedly funny. “Sorry,” she chuckled.

Or later, when he grabbed her hand again to walk to the stage after dinner. She forced a casual smile to prevent an otherwise expository melty look. Then she said something along the lines of, “Oh, I need to get something out of my pocket” and proceeded to show Jesse the most boring rock ever, and pretended to be very interested in it. He seemed confused, but Lake hoped it was convincing nonetheless.

Her excuses didn’t get much better throughout the week, but after a while she didn’t need to make them anymore, because he started keeping his distance.

Distance… It was what she wanted. But it started feeling deeper than just not touching. It started feeling like _they_ were becoming distant.

It was better than the alternative, she tried to convince herself. She didn’t want things to be weird between them, not with her closest friend. This was… safer.

Regardless though, for the next few months, things _were_ weird. An unspoken threshold had been crossed. On the surface, it looked like nothing had happened, but deep down Lake knew Jesse was hurting over it. There were times where she swore he was about to say something about it, but then he just looked away.

She hated that. She hated so much that things were tense, and she hated more that she couldn’t address it. Under normal circumstances, Lake would be the one confronting the issue head-on, but what was she supposed to say to him? “Sorry I’m getting unreasonably attracted to you. I’m sure it’ll fade”? Needless to say, she spent a lot of nights beating her head against the wall about it. Literally. Her fosters started getting concerned though so she had to stop.

The dilemma was screwing everything up, but she still held to her decision. Even if things were weird right now, it didn’t mean they’d stay that way. Things would just have to get better eventually, right?

Besides, she couldn’t imagine saying anything to him- actually _admitting_ that she was feeling… whatever! It didn’t matter anyway. She and Jesse were _friends_ , nothing more. And even if she did like him… it would just make things harder than they already were. 

She would just have to keep her distance. For the sake of their friendship, she would do that. Even if it was killing her a little bit every time she wanted to hold his hand. Or let him lean on her shoulders. Or just be casual like they once were. It was a constant battle in her head, and it had been raging ever since he left for camp.

But she couldn’t lose him. So she kept away.

\---

And it worked!

Until movie night.

It was finally Halloween weekend, and after having a stressful week of end-of-the-quarter tests, Lake was so pumped for their annual movie marathon. They both were, actually, by the amount of gushing Jesse did at school. She had a personal mission to show Jesse the scariest possible movies, but to make it fair, they decided to both choose two and see how far they got into the night. While Jesse decided to play it safe with _Hotel Transylvania_ (yuck) and _Coraline_ (now we’re talking), Lake chose _The Shining_ and _IT_ for ideal terror levels. 

Movie snacks prepared and the Cosay basement to themselves, marathon night was already set up for a huge success. They’d planned in advance that if they started at eight, they’d be able to finish just around three a.m. and sleep in as much as they wanted on Sunday. 

The first movie was a bit of a drag for Lake, but Jesse seemed to enjoy himself enough for her to be content. Not without a fair amount of mocking, though. Lake tended to be a snarky person during movies, especially if she was bored.

 _Coraline_ was much better. They’d assumed of course that since it was animated, it wouldn’t be scary. But as soon as the other mother started revealing her true colors, things started to get _interesting_. Near the end, with the world behind the corridor dissolving into the other mother’s web, Lake noticed Jesse gripping his pillow with strained knuckles. Though she’d intended to scare him, she couldn’t help but feel empathetic.

“Hey. Jesse.”

“Wha- hey!” he laughed, trying to dodge her popcorn barrage. From his own popcorn bag, he returned a volley of his own, before turning to see the heroine on the screen escape out into her own living room, safe and sound.

She tried not to feel too warm about the quiet sigh of relief he breathed.

Finally, _finally_ , it was Lake’s turn for movie pick, and she was offering no more mercy. No sir, it was terror time. By the time they were about to start _The Shining_ it was already past midnight too, which meant whatever happened in the movie could be forgotten by the next morning, or at least she hoped so.

Plus, she really wanted to see some screaming people. It was Halloween, c’mon!

“You ready?” she grinned wickedly.

“A-are you kidding? I was born to watch scary movies,” he replied unconvincingly. Jesse adjusted his position on the couch so his arms were crossed more firmly across his chest.

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea. Besides, she wouldn’t enjoy it as much if he was freaking out the whole time.

Lake hesitated. “Hey, we don’t have to watch it if you don’t want to. I’m fine with just-”

“No, it’s fine,” he cut her off. “I know you wanna watch it.”

“Yeah but-”

Jesse reached over, snatched the remote from her hand, and pressed play. “Lake, I’ll live, okay? It’s Halloween, and we should spend it your way.”

“If you say so,” she shrugged, eager to finally watch something good. She tried not to pay attention to the way Jesse tensed up beside her. He… said it was okay, right?

The movie started out fairly innocent, but it didn’t take long before things started picking up the pace. It would normally be fun, but as the movie got more suspenseful, Lake just felt worse and worse about Jesse’s nerves. But then she remembered something.

When Jesse was learning how to drive, he had the nervous habit of squeezing his hand into a fist and shifting his thumb in and out from under his fingers, as he was doing now. Back then, whenever he did, Lake would silently take his hand and he’d calm down a little. It was something she did without thinking until it became something she didn’t do _because_ of her thinking.

She owed him this.

The next time suspense was building and Jesse started fidgeting, Lake took his hand. She did it quietly, but surely, and without looking at him. It took a few moments for him to respond with a small squeeze and a soft breath, something akin to relief. Her fingers tingled as if he’d breathed on them.

With this permission, the scarier the movie got, the closer Jesse got to literally smothering her. He started out just holding her hand, but by the famous line “Here’s Johnny”, he was gripping her whole arm for dear life. As long as she focused on the movie and not him, she could handle it. She could ignore all the unintended nerves and secret desire running haywire in her brain. 

To be honest, it was helping her too. Not like she was _scared_ , or anything, definitely not that, but it was… nice. Being normal again.

When the music started picking up like it was preparing for a jump scare, Jesse groaned and buried his face in her shoulder, muttering something like “I don’t wanna watch”. Lake was grateful for the darkness hiding her blush, to say the least. At that point, it had been a while since he had touched her, and crazy enough it was even more intense than she had remembered from summer camp. Warmer too. With every scared twitch that translated into him holding her tighter, she’d feel that familiar electricity, but combined with a new warmth she couldn’t exactly place. _Fondness,_ she realized. And then immediately tried to forget about it.

The movie was still getting scarier, though.

She started confusing the nerves of the jump scares with Jesse’s touches. He was still gripping tight to her arm. She started gripping back. One specific scare had Jesse lunging himself into her embrace and she squeezed him back just as tight. By the final scene, they were a tangled mess of terrified limbs. Jesse closed his eyes during the scary parts, and Lake knew because she watched _him_ instead of the screen.

It was like nothing had changed in the past three months, but it had at the same time. Jesse didn’t seem uncomfortable with the closeness, in fact, he was almost shameless in the way he clung to her. _He always was,_ she reminded herself. It was only her mind that had spun the lie that he wouldn’t want to touch her if she started feeling things for him.

In the most inconvenient timing of her life, the delirium of the late night, and the mess of nerves seriously screwing with her brain, she finally started to piece some things together. Dangerous, friendship-ruining things. Things that she couldn’t think about when his arms, around her waist, were pinned to the couch behind her. And her face, no longer facing the screen, was so close to his.

There was a moment when he stopped hiding from the movie, where his empathy played out on his face as he watched the victims struggle, and he whispered a soundless “no”. It was such a little, insignificant reaction, but it was so… him. There was no stopping the tight feeling in her heart, and it took perhaps all of her willpower to not lean that short distance between them and kiss his worries away from those somber lips.

Lake’s head spun, and she snapped her head back to the screen, desperate to focus on _anything_ else.

The end of the movie came a little too fast for the amount of fear she was pretending to experience. However, the falling action of the manic-charged plot was fairly tedious, at least to a tired mind. It wasn’t long before her eyes were drooping with sleep. Maybe it was the mental exhaustion of denying her feelings for too long.

It was a half-asleep thought but… was that what she was doing?

It didn’t matter too much though, because not much realization got through her thick skull before the movie was finally over and they had both passed out asleep at around the same time, never having the energy to separate beforehand.

\--

The first thing Lake saw when she cracked open her eyes was the oppressive sunlight of her window. Wait, no. That was just the light from the TV. TV? She didn’t have one of those in her room.

Oh, right, the movie marathon. 

Jeez, the couch she was on was so weirdly shaped, it was almost like-

Her stomach dropped as she realized the thing curled behind her and holding her waist hostage was _Jesse_. Anxious thoughts shot through her brain as she recalled the events of the previous night: The shining, the hand-holding, the _cuddling that was STILL happening!?_ There she was, panicking and losing all sense, and he was- he was-

He was snoring. It was such a soft sound that she almost missed it over her roaring heartbeat, but it was there. He wasn’t even awake yet. And it’d be rude to wake him... right?

This was crazy, what was she _thinking?!?_ This was an accident, right? So she should wake him up and move onto the other couch. Now. Now. Okay… now! But then again, she was so… comfortable. Jesse’s back was pressed against the back of the couch and the arm around her that had shifted there during the movie was soft and protective. Had they literally been like this all night? Lake’s face burned. It was too early in the morning for this crap.

She tensed up as Jesse shifted in his sleep. Shoot, he was waking up. What was she supposed to say to him? Maybe if she pretended she was asleep too she wouldn’t have to say anything. Lake squeezed her eyes shut, but Jesse didn’t wake. Instead, the arm around her pulled her closer and he nudged his face closer so that his nose was brushing the back of her neck. And then his soft snoring breath was skating across her skin, lighting up her nerves like an electric shock.

If her mind wasn’t lost already, it was then. He was so _clingy!_ How unfair it was that he was even touchy in his sleep. If he was awake, he’d see her feelings so clearly on her face that she wouldn’t even have to say a word before he knew… before he knew everything.

His ear was so close to her too, close enough for her to end all of the confusion and awkwardness between them if she could just find the words to explain it all.

Did she still need to explain it to herself? It seemed just about obvious now. Since summer, or maybe long before, she’d liked him more than a friend. Or… not only that. 

Lake shuddered as another one of his breaths ghosted her neck. She… she was in love with him.

And she had to get out of this before she was too far gone.

Lake breathed one last sigh before she elbowed him in the side, hard enough to wake him up but soft enough that it could’ve happened in her sleep. The effect was instantaneous. Jesse stirred awake, releasing his hold on Lake slowly at first, and then abruptly as he realized how close they were.

“S-sorry!” he managed, his eyes blown wide open though she could see signs of drowsiness behind them. He looked at a loss for words, too- fumbling to create some distance between them which was impossible since they were still on the same couch cushion.

She couldn’t even respond for a second, head still fuzzy and trying not to think about the way she could smooth down his erratic bedhead. And were his cheeks darker than normal? She shook her head violently.

“Fine. I mean it’s fine. I- I have to go,” she said, practically falling off the side of the couch to gather her things. He was hypnotic, damn it. That stupid hair. Stupid- Freaking- boy!

“I… Lake, I didn’t...” he started, but each word was softer than the last. She wanted to look back at him, to face the consequences of her coldness. But although she wasn’t afraid of gore, or murder, or all those shocking things on the screen, he was the one thing she couldn’t bear to see right then.

She was out the door before he could say another word that would surely shatter her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell that I've never seen the Shining? LOL
> 
> Anyway I literally wrote this after being inspired by book 2 when Jesse hugs Lake and she's really hesitant to hug him back but then when he gets back on the train she's so excited to hug him and it gives me ALLL the feels. I just love these idiots what do you want from me.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!! This week is gonna be crazy for me school-wise, but part 2 is almost finished and I'll publish that soon. Step by step though... that one is gonna take a bit longer. I have to make it perfect!! Bear with me though, it'll totally be worth it B)
> 
> Mage out, PEACE!


	2. With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lake comes to a decision about her feelings for Jesse.

The lines on her ceiling were ingrained in her mind after staring at them for almost four hours. 

This feeling… it was new. The anger had faded, finally. She didn’t feel the urge to knock her head into the wall anymore. In fact, she didn’t feel the urge to do anything, really. For the second time in her life, she was completely lost. And for the second time, it was because she’d lost Jesse.

That morning, as soon as she was out the door, Lake had run as fast and as far away as she could from her feelings. They clung to her, no matter how many times her bare feet hit the concrete. She couldn’t stop the thoughts from swirling and spiraling, and even running couldn’t get them out of her head.

She’d run until she couldn’t breathe, and it still wasn’t enough. Collapsing against a nearby house in that barely sunlit dawn reminded her too well of summer camp, and her decision that night to stay away from him. How effective _that_ was. She still longed for him every day like a stupid lovestruck idiot. Every minute she was with him was another million different ideas of how she could touch him. How she couldn’t, but how she wanted to anyway.

It was inescapable. Against the house, she hit her head against the wall, as if it would do anything. It would ruin everything to admit it to herself, but there was no other option.

She was in love with him.

Defeated, she walked the rest of the two miles home, running the words over and over and trying to wrap her head around them.

She’d thought about it for hours. And then hours after on her bedroom floor, she’d torn herself apart for being so stupid. Denial had become her escapism, but it was the easy way out. This, coming to terms with her feelings, was impossible.

She knew she had to tell him. That morning, Lake had done it her way: she’d ripped off the bandaid, hoping the tension would dissolve behind her. Now here she was, lying on her back, headphones playing the same four songs on repeat.

At around hour three, she’d started thinking about where it’d all begun, about summer camp, and the distance, and now today. She set all the thoughts she’d been holding back free, and she spent the last while picking up the pieces of a puzzle she’d discarded so violently before.

Here’s what she’d discovered:

Lake had started developing feelings on the train but had denied them. Then she kept denying it for years as her feelings grew stronger and stronger. Summer camp had shattered that plausible deniability, and last night, she finally stopped trying to fight it.

She was now faced with an entirely new impossibility: How to confess without losing him forever. It was going to be so awkward and stunted, and she’d probably have to spend a long time trying to get over him if he didn’t like her back.

Honestly? She couldn’t even fathom the idea that he liked her. He knew what she’d done. Lake was a murderer. By necessity of course, but still no less of a murderer. He’d known since she finally confessed to him off the train, when he’d tentatively asked what Sieve meant. It wasn’t an easy confession either- it came with guilt and pain and maybe the hardest conversation she’d ever had. This next one might be even worse though.

Because she was going to have to tell him everything, there was no avoiding it anymore.

After hours of it, Lake realized she wasn’t built to be an overthinker. It wasn’t in her nature to plan out every circumstance. That was Tulip, not her. She was going to go and talk to Jesse, and whatever happened, happened, right? Rejection? Sure, okay. But there was no way she was going to live with this feeling anymore. She was getting a headache.

Still, every time she got up to go and do exactly that, she was hit with another volley of nerves. Her best friend… she couldn’t live without him. Rejection wouldn’t kill her, but oh, that look from this morning would absolutely do the trick.

After distracting herself for the majority of the day, she finally convinced herself to leave for his house around sunset, under the guise that she would just be retrieving the phone that she left at his house in her haste. She’d been able to trick herself for this long, right? It was about time she started using that trick for good.

In the state she was in, it took her halfway to Jesse’s house before she realized she was still wearing the clothes she woke up in: an oversized shirt and sweats, not to mention no shoes. Kinda a symptom of feeling no pain in her feet. It didn’t matter. She had to do this.

When she got to the door, she didn’t even think about it, she just rang the doorbell.

Her pulse started racing when she saw the doorknob turning, but it was Nate, not Jesse, who opened the door. “Lake? It’s nice to see you,” he smiled.

“You too, Nate.” She smiled halfheartedly. “Have you seen Jesse?”

“Oh, no actually. He’s been gone like all day. I thought he was with you?”

Lake shook her head.

“So… Do you want some cookies? Mom made some earlier today,” he grinned. Lake remembered the few months she’d spent living with them, and almost missed it. Leaving them was hard at first, but a family of her own was good for everyone.

“I’m not really hungry, but thanks, Nate. I guess I forgot my phone here too, down in the basement.”

“Oh, I’ll grab it for you then,” he said, chipper. Lake nodded absentmindedly as he disappeared into the house. 

Jesse was gone? Maybe he went to her house, and she hadn’t heard him with her headphones on? That would be ironic. Her skin prickled. The anxiety about seeing him switched into anxiety about not seeing him in a heartbeat. Where could he have gone?

The door swung open again, and Nate handed over her cracked-screen phone.

“Thanks,” she said, wandering away already.

“Hey, wait- don’t you want shoes?” he called after her.

“Nah. Metal feet, remember?”

She could hear laughter behind her and the door closing. Her eyes, however, were trained on her phone screen, which was filled with green texts from Jesse. Texts that got more and more frantic when he assumed she was ignoring him.

7:17

[Jesse] hey

[Jesse] I’m really sorry

[Jesse] I swear i didnt mean to do that, and im so sorry i got scared about the movie we probably shouldve just not watched it?? Im really bad with scary movies

[Jesse] lol

7:49

[Jesse] if youre mad, please just tell me so we can talk

[Jesse] i think we’ve needed to talk since summer

[Jesse] sorry if that sounds serious

8:08

[Jesse] Lake please talk to me

[Jesse] I’m really sorry

9:37

2 missed calls from Jesse

No, no no no, he thought he’d been ignoring her since the morning and it was sunset now. She felt guilt and fear crawl in her stomach. Where _was_ he? She hadn’t the faintest clue of where to begin, and all she’d done for the past few minutes was walk across the street to the lake where she’d been freed. 

Her lake. Could he be here?

She dug both her hands through her short hair. The amount of stress she was feeling was going to turn her skin dull or something. Wrapping her arms around herself, she walked to the shore. The lake was always a place where she could ground herself, and remind herself of who she was. Today, even the lake couldn’t help her. She had to walk, even if it was further away from the boy she needed to talk to, the boy who could melt her anger like it was nothing.

With no one around, it was easy to release the sigh she’d been holding back. Then she started along the familiar dirt path around the lake. It was the only thing she could think to do.

The branches of the path stretched before her, but for once Lake’s gaze was fixed on the ground instead. She was trying not to concentrate on the feelings in her gut. They were all too familiar. She wasn’t even running from anyone, but the fear of loss- of Jesse or her freedom- filled her senses as they did on the feverish days without him on the train.

This. Sucked. It only made it worse that it was her own fault, and that she’d just been a jerk to him all stupid summer. Why couldn’t she just be mature about her feelings for _once_ , instead of running every chance she got?

Maybe she couldn’t help it. Maybe running was all she knew, at the end of the day.

Lake groaned audibly and stopped where she was in the middle of the trail. This wasn’t helping. The further she walked, the further she was getting away from-

“Lake?”

Tired and still kinda delirious, it took her a second to look up.

_Jesse_

She’d been so anxious about not finding him, but there he was, found, and her stomach was still filled to the brim with new nerves. Still, nothing could stop her from rushing forward to him and wrapping her arms around him tightly. She didn’t care what it was doing to her- she just cared about him and the fact that he was here, here, here.

“Jesse,” she breathed, and then forced herself to let him go. “Where _were_ you,” she demanded.

It took him a few moments to respond, and in that time, Lake glanced him over. It was obvious he hadn’t changed from the night before either. And he wasn’t smiling, either. In fact, he still looked distressed, though she could tell he was trying to hide it, trying to blow it off like _she_ had been doing for months. It sent a pang through her heart to see him like that, and this time she was unable to come up with any kind of lie to justify it. She cared about him too much.

He was her freedom now, if he would have her. He was truly the only thing that could free her heart from it all.

“I- I’m sorry,” he said, and she knew he wasn’t talking about getting lost.

“Stop saying that, seriously, I can’t hear it anymore.” She looked away from him. “ _I’m_ the one that’s sorry, okay. I shouldn’t have stormed out, it was stupid.”

“Yeah, but I-”

“Jesse. Shut up.” She hesitated, but then took his face in her hands. She wanted him to know, to _really_ know that it was okay now. That no matter how much touching him warmed her cheeks, it was okay, and they were okay, and she wasn’t angry. Her surety was reflected in her eyes, and thankfully his face softened a little with the gesture.

Reassured that he was okay, Lake took her hands back, crossing them in front of her chest to steel herself for what was coming. “You look like trash.”

He laughed then, sudden and pitched, like it was forced. “Yeah, probably.” He looked away too, breathing his own heavy sigh. “You wanna, uh, sit?” she nodded and followed his glance to the lakeside. They’d been there before, but she never thought he’d come alone. Before the grass gave way to rocks was where he gestured, so she nodded slowly and they wandered over and sat down. 

“Look, I know things have changed since summer. We’ve been drifting apart, and for a while, I didn’t know why…” he trailed off. He was still not looking at her, so Lake moved her own gaze out across the water. This was going to hurt, wasn’t it?

“But then I figured it out. You needed more space, and I wasn’t- Jeez, I dunno… did something happen while I was at camp? I just don’t know and it’s driving me crazy,” he lamented, dragging a hand through his messy hair. “I just wanna know what I did wrong.”

“Jesse, I-” She started. Lake contemplated reaching for his hand again, her olive branch of comfort like she had the night before, but she stopped herself. He wasn’t going to want it anyway after she confessed. But she couldn’t find the words yet so she just said, “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“What, then?” he met her gaze full force, and his eyes were swimming with confusion and desperation. “Did you meet someone else? Listen, I- I get it if you don’t wanna be close anymore, but I wish you could’ve _told_ me about it. I just wanna stay friends, like always.”

The last bit hit especially hard, and it manifested into a choking noise that turned into a panicked laugh.

“That’s the problem.”

He made a shocked sound, “you don’t want to stay friends?! I said I was sorry, and I just thought-”

“Jesse! Will you stop jumping to conclusions? Just let me explain, okay?”

The heartbreak in his eyes didn’t fade in the slightest, and it burned, so she looked away. Then she regretted it. Lake wasn’t going to run anymore: she just needed to say it. One breath and a glance to the sky, and then she met his eyes. No more hiding.

“When you went away for summer camp, I thought I was going to be fine. I had friends, and a bunch of skating tricks I planned to try. But without you there, I realized it was… I dunno, it wasn’t fun or something. And then I started realizing more stuff.” She closed her eyes. “I realized when I saw you again that I felt different. And it scared me.”

“Different? Like a good different, or-”  
She pushed against his shoulder but her heart wasn’t in it. “Weird different, okay? When I saw you after those weeks I realized how much we’d both grown. I missed you more than I’ve ever missed anyone,” she admitted quietly. 

A quick glance at Jesse’s awestruck face had her blushing all over again, so she groaned and covered her face. Ripping off the bandaid was taking a really uncomfortably long time.

But before she could get too far in her own self-mortification, he scooted closer. “You did?” he asked, pulling her hands away from her own face. An action that made it all too easy for her to keep her hands resting in his like she really wanted to. But then his face fell again and he pulled away. “So, what happened? If you missed me so much, why did we become so distant?”

Lake shook her head. “You really are oblivious, aren’t you?”

“I am not! You’re just really confusing!” he pouted.

She was going to have to be blunt. She steeled herself. And then-

“I became distant… because I fell in love with someone.”

“Oh…” he was quiet for a second. “and you didn’t want them to get the wrong impression about us, right? Cause I’m so touchy.”

She turned her head slowly to him, a look of utter disbelief on her face. He _had_ to be joking right? Was she really going to have to spell it out?

“Man, I knew you were spending more time with the skating group. Just tell me- is it Jackie? Or, what’s-his-face uh... Antonio?” 

“What? No! What is your problem?”

“My problem?” he scoffed, “I don’t have a problem with you dating someone else!” he sounded unusually bitter, which gave Lake an idea.

“You don’t?”

“Don’t what?”

“Have a problem with me… potentially dating someone else?”

Jesse reacted to the change in tone uncomfortably, and the sad look returned. “...No”

“None at all?” she pressed. She was still going to have to tell him, but scoping for his feelings could make it easier. Or it could make it harder. Heart-wrenchingly difficult, actually, if she found out he actually didn’t care.

He didn’t say anything for a while, instead taking a turn to stare out at the lake again. The wrong lake. Heart-on-his-sleeve Jesse was suddenly impossible to read.

“Lake,” he said finally, but didn’t turn to look at her. “You’re my best friend, and you’ve been the closest friend I’ve ever had even if I only met you a couple of years ago.” He sighed, his head dipping to rest on the knees that were already pulled to his chest. “But even though I want you to be happy, I guess I would be a little hurt if you… decided to spend more time with someone else.” 

It wasn’t as direct as she wanted, but it was the glimmer of hope she needed to have the confidence to go through with the rest.

“Okay.”

“So, really, if there’s someone out there, I think you should go after them,” he said, obviously hurt now.

“You think so?”

“Lake,” he monotoned, turning to her. “Yes. Seriously, who couldn’t fall for you? I mean, you-you're so funny and strong and possibly the coolest person I know.” He took an exasperated breath, like all of this was obvious. “Won’t you just tell me who it is? I want to give them my blessing.”

“Your _blessing?”_ she laughed, “what are you, my dad?”

He huffed, crossing his arms. “Friend blessings are important!”

“Hmm,” she smiled, having too much fun pressing him now. “Maybe I won’t tell you then. Don’t wanna risk it.”

“Laaake!” he complained.

“You’ll just have to live with never knowing.”

“What!” He pushed her, which didn’t budge her but made her laugh. “That’s not fair! I would tell you if I liked someone.”

She smiled maniacally.

“What?”

“Liar.”

He looked confused. “No, I would, really.”

She leaned towards him smugly. “Hm. Doubt it.”

“Oh yeah?” he said, moving his body so that it was opposite hers. His eyebrows raised as he took on a coy tone. “What proof do you have that I’ve never told you about a crush?”

“I don’t have proof _yet.”_

He scoffed. “Proof yet, what’s that supposed to-” Jesse’s voice was cut off in a small gasp when she leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. The peck was as short as it was sudden, half so she would still have plausible deniability if this stupid plan went horribly wrong.

“See?” She lifted his chin with a finger, purposefully keeping their distance minimal. “You’re blushing.”

His voice was barely audible, hoarse, “that wasn’t very nice.” It seemed he couldn’t meet her eye, his gaze lingering on her mouth instead. There was a certain type of thrill to know she was right, to know she could finally be the one making him flustered after he’d been driving her insane all this time. 

“Well I’m not very nice, but you like me anyway,” she said, surrendering to the lovestruck expression she’d been holding back for too long. She was about to lean in again, but Jesse pulled back suddenly.

“Wait. Waitwaitwait why are you doing this? So what, you know I like you, but what does that mean for you?” He groaned, palms rubbing his eyes, dark blush still all-too-obvious. “Now you know I have to get over you! And- and it’ll be really awkward for whoever you start dating if _you_ know that I- That I’m… What is _happening_?”

Lake laughed again, a little impatient now. “What’s happening is you’re being stupid.”

“Fine, care to _clarify_ then, since I’m so stupid?” he frowned.

Her eyes lit up. “With pleasure.”

She grabbed his shirt, pulling him closer. When their lips met, she didn’t hold back. It was a messy, spur-of-the-moment kiss, with initial confusion over how to fit her chrome lips against his, but what mattered was the feeling behind the act. She needed to prove to him, and maybe herself too, how much she loved him. His lips were as warm as she'd imagined, and electricity exploded behind her eyes when he briefly started kissing her back. It didn’t last long though, because for the third time that day, Jesse drew back. 

“ _Really?_ ” he whispered with awe. It was wild to think that his expression, filled with soft admiration, could make her even happier than the kiss she’d waited so long for.

She rolled her eyes fondly. Fond. She could be that way now. “Yeah. I uh… I became distant from you because I couldn’t understand the things I was feeling.” She shook her head. “But I shouldn’t have confused you. As much as I hate to admit it, you aren’t the only idiot here.”

He was still grinning, unfazed by her admission. She almost couldn’t bear to have him look at her like _that_ , like she was someone beautiful, someone he wanted.

“So- wait, you stopped touching me because you started to like it?”

Lake scowled, “I _said_ it was stupid.”

He turned to face her more fully, his expression giddy with curiosity. “You said you felt ‘weird different’ around me. What did _that_ mean?”

She stared up at the sky, already feeling mortified. “Ugh, just like- do you remember when you hugged me when I got to musical theater camp?”

Jesse shook his head. “Not really. I kinda hug you a lot.”

“Yeah, like last night when I was your bodyguard against a fake serial killer” she teased, but he wasn’t even phased about it anymore. He just shrugged. _Shameless_ . “Whatever, when you hugged me _then,_ it felt different than before. Jeez, this is so dumb, can we talk about something else?”

“Nope,” he smiled at her embarrassment. “You made me sad for months, I deserve a reason.”

Lake groaned louder. “Fine!”

“So... how did you feel?”

She grumbled something incoherent. 

Jesse, persistent and feeling braver, lifted her chin this time, mouthing ‘tell me’. When he did things like that, she knew she couldn’t keep anything from him. To everyone else, she was as hard as her metallic exterior showed, but with him? She was Lake. Proud to be a person, and happier than ever to be with him like this. So this time, she didn’t hide any of the romantic uselessness that had been forcing its way into her thoughts.

“I felt...electric,” she breathed, meeting his eyes. “It was so hard to hide my feelings when you were holding my hand or leaning on me or something. I just couldn’t help feeling that way. And it was so scary to think that I would lose you if I told you, so I figured I’d hide by not touching you anymore, but that was- It was even worse.” she finished, smiling sadly.

He tipped his head to meet her gaze, that soft look of his glowing in the setting sun. Just that look was enough to tell her that she had been so foolish to think that she could ever get rid of him for any reason as stupid as hers.

“So…” he said quietly, picking up both of her hands in his own. “Do you… feel electric now?”

She nodded, distinctly aware of the tingling sensation right where he was holding her hands loosely in his own.

Then he let her hands slip from his grip, bringing them up to caress her cheeks instead. “How about now?”

She nodded again, letting herself smile and feel warm. He’d never done that before, not on purpose like this, and she realized that she liked the feeling of his fingers there.

He leaned closer to her, half-lidded eyes drifting closed. Then he pressed his forehead to hers, gently. 

“Now?”

She barely got to nod before he leaned the final distance to meet her lips.

Their second kiss was even better than the first, if it were possible. He was far more gentle than her rushed display could have managed. She could feel everything he was feeling when he kissed her this slow. 

There was no more confusion between them now, and yet she still couldn’t quite believe that it was real, that he could manage to love her. But every deliberate nudge of his lips against hers was another doubt washed from her mind.

Jesse’s hands drifted from her face to her shoulders, and then down to her hips and a world of possibilities opened up to her. She smiled against him, shifting so she could wind her fingers in his soft, long hair like she’d wanted to so badly over the summer. 

She felt her nose brush his, and angled her face so that wouldn’t happen, inadvertently deepening the kiss which sent another thrill through her body. The fact that she could let herself feel these things for him didn’t make it much easier to handle. She already knew her cheeks and ears were a deep red, spurred on by so much affection all at once.

Lake curled her fingers, circling Jesse’s hair between them, which made Jesse laugh between kisses like it tickled.

She was too interested in kissing him to stop and tease him, but at the same time she was smiling too hard to be able to kiss him effectively anyway, so she pulled away and leaned her head on his shoulder. Jesse pressed his cheek to hers, pulling her close into a hug. It was just like that day at camp, except now she could hug him back just as much as she wanted. Well, as much as she wanted given she didn’t break him with her metallic strength.

They stayed like that for a while, both processing everything that had just happened between them. Against her cooler skin (though still warmer than usual), she could feel the heat of his face. It made her smile to herself to know she wasn’t the only one.

“I missed this.” His breath was so close to her ear that it sent a shiver down her spine.

“Yeah, idiot, and whose fault is that?” she deflected out of habit.

He pulled back, an incredulous expression on his face. “ _Yours,_ Lake!”

“Pssh whaaat? Nahh you should’ve confessed, you dork.”

“I- hey! _You’re the confident one!_ ”

“Nuh-uh!”

“You literally kissed me first just now!”

“Yeah, well you kissed me second!”

Jesse stood up from the shore, shaking his head. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

“Mmhn,” she grinned wickedly, standing up to take his hand in hers before he could first. “Kinda says something about your lack of taste, huh?”

He rolled his eyes, grabbing her other hand and pulling her close. “I dunno, it led me to a pretty hot chrome girl so I’d say my taste is pretty good.”

Lake blinked away her infatuation and pushed him away, walking back towards the trail. “Man, you are such a ham, you know that? Do I really have to put up with this cheesiness forever?”

“You looove me~”

“Against my better judgement.”

Jesse laughed, running after her and leaned his arm around her shoulder. “C’mon let’s go back home. I don’t think we finished our movie night, you still wanted to watch IT right?”

“You couldn’t handle that movie in a million years.”

“Could _n’t_. But with you? I think I could make it.”

She smiled up at the trees, turned orange by the sun, and wrapped her own arm around him. “I think we could too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no chill okay I understand its dramatic but I don't care no more!! I do what I want!! And these teens are dramatic okay they've been through it all ;-;  
> Shoutout to Elizabeth-queen and Elizas-core (insta handles) for telling me it's okay that I'm literally the biggest drama queen in the universe !! I actually needed the motivation to post this cause I get really annoyed when things aren't perfectly in character (which is impossible but something I still worry about), so thank you guys!! You don't know the good you both do, thanks chaos fam  
> Hope you enjoyed this and see you soon for the end of my other fic!  
> Mage out!


End file.
